Failure to Discard Used Catheter Leg Bag Left on Bathroom Sink
Summary
The facility failed to maintain a safe, clean, comfortable, and homelike environment when a used urinary catheter leg bag was left on a resident’s bathroom sink for multiple days. The resident involved had a moderately impaired cognitive status per the admission MDS and used an indwelling urinary catheter. During an interview and observation with the resident’s responsible party, a leg bag containing approximately 50 ml of urine was observed lying on the bathroom counter next to the sink, with no urine visible on the sink itself. The responsible party reported visiting almost daily and seeing the leg bag in the bathroom for at least a few days but did not report it to staff because she was unsure if it was there for a specific purpose and noted that the resident did not use the bathroom. Nurse #3 later stated that on a prior date she had been assigned to the resident when the resident returned from a urology appointment and the catheter leg bag was changed to an overnight drainage bag. She reported removing the leg bag, believed she had emptied it, and then left it on the bathroom counter when she was called away to assist another resident, despite facility policy requiring catheter bags to be discarded after use. Housekeeper #1, who had been consistently assigned to the room, reported seeing the catheter leg bag on the bathroom counter during cleaning and stated she cleaned around it but did not move or report it, believing nursing staff had left it there intentionally and noting she had not been educated to report undiscared catheter bags. A nurse aide assigned to the resident on subsequent days reported using the bathroom to obtain water for personal hygiene but did not recall seeing the leg bag and stated she would have discarded it and notified the nurse if she had seen it. The DON confirmed the presence of the catheter leg bag on the sink and reiterated that facility policy required catheter bags to be discarded after use.
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